Air conditioning apparatus



April 20, 1937. w FLElSHER 2,077,554

AIR CONDITIONING APPARATUS Filed April 50, 1932 64 FIG. I

M INVENTOR Y I WALTER LQFLEISHER ATTORNEY Patented Apr. 20, 1937 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE}- 2 Claims.

This invention relates to systems and methods for ventilating and air-conditioning and particularly to systems for maintaining proper air conditions for human comfort and health.

An object of the invention is toimprove the economy of operation of air-conditioning systems.

A further object of the invention is to provide an air-conditioning system which will meet the rigid requirements of systems for household use.

In the case of ventilating and air-conditioning for comfort, the problem is not only one of maintaining the proper conditions of temperature, humidity and purity of the air within the inclosure being ventilated, but also of maintaining the condition of the circulated air such that it will readily mix with the air in the inclosure without producing disagreeable air currents.- In this respect there are introduced difllculties not encountered in industrial installations where the circulated air can be intensively conditioned, the chief requirement being that the total mixture in the inclosure should be at the desired condition. On the other hand in systems for comfort work the temperature and humidity of the circulated air must be maintained within a rather definite, narrow margin of difference from the conditions of the air in the room. As a result, there must be employed a large volume of air not intensively conditioned, in order that the mixture in the inclosure be at the desired condition.

In comfort systems the problem, particularly in the summertime, is one of d'ehumidifying and cooling. In dehumidifying apparatus the air is cooled to a point below the dew point temperature of the air to be conditioned so as to precipitate a part of the water vapor, the leaving air being substantially saturated. In this way the dew point temperature (1. e., the water vapor content of the air) can be accurately regulated to the point required for the circulated air. At

the same time a cooling effect is produced. However, the air, being substantially saturated at the dew point temperature required to give the practically absolute limits of 30 to 70% relative amount of heat which must be absorbed by the refrigerating system but also that heat is utilized for the useful purpose of superheating the leaving air so that it is in a proper condition for circulation. v

In accordance with another feature of this invention, the air is conditioned in a combined interchanger and washer so arranged that the heats of the air to be conditioned and the air leaving the washer proper are interchanged without affecting the .water vapor content of the leaving air. This apparatus not only produces a reduction in the load on the refrigerating system when such is used, but also can be operated to take advantage of the inherent economy of cooling by evaporation, and since it reduces the refrigeration requirements, permits such operation under conditions when this would ordinarily be impossible.

.Applicants arrangement not only superheats the air' leaving the washer chamber but also reduces the wet bulb temperature of the air entering the washer chambers so that the amount-of heat which must be absorbed therein is greatly reduced, thus greatly reducing the load on the refrigerating system. The result is that in the early part of the cooling season, city water which has not yet risen in temperature may be utilized without resorting to artificial refrigeration.

Further, the system may be used to take advantage of the natural economy of cooling by evaporation. In such a method of operation the water is recirculated without refrigeration and the air leaving the washer approaches saturation at the wet bulb temperature of the air entering the washer proper. In the usual type of conditioner this method of operation can only be em ployed when the outside wet bulb temperature is at or below the dew point temperature required in the house. However, with my system, the total heat of the air and consequently the wet bulb temperature is reduced before'the air enters the washer boxes.

Thus, heat is absorbed from the incoming air by the air leaving the washer proper, the rate of heat interchange and consequently the amount of heat absorbed being a function of the temperature difference. This temperature difference is a function of the temperature of the air leaving the washer proper which is determined by the wet bulb temperature of the air entering the.

washer proper. Since this wet bulb temperature is in turn controlled by the heat absorption from the incoming air, there is produced a cumulative effect which is in effect continuous up to an equilibrium point. The amount of heat interchange produced is of course controlled by the dimensions and length of the interchanger pas- S es and the kind of metal used.

5 Consequently, advantage may be taken of the economy of cooling by evaporation even when the wet bulb temperature of the outside air is considerably above the desired dew point temperature. In other words, the conditioner of my invention operates without the use of refrigeration to give air having a dew point temperature below i the wet bulb temperature of the incoming air.

In the larger portion of the temperate zone the atmospheric conditions are such that this method of operation can be utilized throughout a large part of the cooling season. The only operating expense being for the comparatively nominal power consumption of the motors for driving the fans and water circulating pump. In fact for night use it is only very rarely that the wet bulb temperature is far above the dew point temperature desired for pleasant cooling.

These and other objects and features of the invention will be more apparent from the following description to be read in connection with the accompanying drawing in which:

Fig. 1 is a cross sectional view of an embodi ment of the invention; and

Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken on the line 55 of Fig. 1.

Figs. 1 and 2 show an embodiment of the combination washer-interchanger type air conditioner of my invention which is particularly suited to installations in which space requirements are a controlling factor. This-conditioner is of very compact form and is readily adaptable for use in air conditioning systems for railway cars, for example. 'For such installations, it could be constructed of such size as to be mounted on the 40 roof, in the vestibule, or other convenient place.

Referring to Figs. 1 and 2, the conditioner comprises a series of nested cylindrical units 60, 6|, 62 and 63 made of sheet metal such as copper and suitably spaced apart so that the spaces between the adjacent cylindrical walls form the interchanger air passages. The left hand end of the unit 66 is flared out at 64 to form an air inlet in which an air filter 65 is mounted. The right hand end of the unit 60 is closed off by a circular plate 66.

The left hand end of the unit 6| is connected through a frusto-conical section 61 to an outlet duct 68 which leads to the inlet of the circulating fan (not shown). An annular plate 69 closes off the right hand end of the passage formed between the walls of the units 6| and 62. A circular plate 16 closes oft the left hand end of the unit 62.

The unit 63 is closed off at its right hand end 0 by means of a circular plate H and forms the washer proper. A plate 12 closes off the lower left hand portion of the unit 63 to form a sump in which the sprayed water collects. Five cylindrical ducts l3 radially mounted from the cylin- 5 drical surface of the unit 63 connect that unit with the air passage between the walls of the units 6| and 62. Eliminators 14 remove the entrained water from the air leaving the washer chamber unit 63.

70 Water is sprayed into the washer chamber unit 63 through the pipe 15 and the spray nozzles 16 by means of a suitable'pump (not shown). A pipe 11 provides means for draining oil the water from the washer chamber 63 to be recirculated by the pump.

The arrows-indicate the direction of the air circulation. Thus, the air entering through the filter 65 passes through the air passage formed between the walls of the units and BI through the passage between the plates 66 and 69 into the passage between the walls of the units 62 and 63 and through that passage to the entrance to the washer chamber 63. Here it is subjected to the action of the sprayed water and passes out through the eliminator 14 and ducts 13 to the air passage formed between the walls of the units 6| and 62 and through that passage to the duct 68 leading to the fan intake.

In operation the air in the passages leading to the washer chamber is cooled through the interchange of heat with the air in the adjacent passages leading from the washer chamber,'while the latter air is superheated by the same action.

Further, the inlet passages, carrying the warmer air, are formed on the outer'surface of the conditioner thus serving as insulation for the washer proper and other passages carrying cooler air.

This embodiment of my invention is shown in the drawing in a simpler form but it should be understood that it may be variously modified without departing from the spirit of my invention as illustrated thereby. Thus, if greater interchange is required it may be provided by the addition of other concentric cylindrical units to form longer air passages. Further, the effective length of the air passages may be increased by providing helical plates in the air passages formed between the cylindrical walls of the units.

Since many modifications may be made in the invention without departing from its scope, applicant intends that the above description and accompanying drawing be considered as illustrative only, applicant limiting himself only as indicated in the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. A combined interchanger-washer for air conditioning comprising a washer chamber, a first wall surrounding the wall of said washer chamber and spaced therefrom to form an inlet air passage to said washer chamber, a second wall surrounding said first wall and spaced therefrom to form an outlet air passage from said washer chamber, and a third wall surrounding said second wall and spaced therefrom to form an inlet passage connected at one end to the first mentioned inlet passage.

2. Air conditioning apparatus comprising a cylindrical washer chamber having an inlet opening and an outlet opening, a cylindrical wall concentric with the wall of said washer chamber and forming therewith an inlet passage to said washer chamber, a second concentric cylindrical wall forming with the first concentric wall an outlet passage from said chamber, a third concentric wall forming with said second wall a second inlet passage connected at one end to the first inlet passage, and radial ducts passing through the first mentioned inlet passage and interconnecting said washer chamber and said outlet passage.

WALTER L. FLEISHER. 

